Color Blind (Able to Love) by Michelle Lindo-Rice

Cassandra said, bending towards her daughter. Emily hid behind her mother’s skirt and peeked at Annie. “It’s okay, honey. Can you shake Miss Annie’s hand and say hello?”
    “Hi, Miss Annie. I’m Emily and I’m three years old.” The little girl held up three stubby fingers and Annie’s heart melted. She was so precious, how could Saul deny his own flesh and blood?
    She couldn’t help the tears that sprung to her eyes. She stooped, until she was on Emily’s level. “Hi, Emily. It’s such a pleasure to meet you.”
    Emily smiled, before looking up at her mother. “Can I go watch television?”
    “Yes, honey.”
    Emily skipped off towards the living area, where she would meet her grandfather for the first time. A grandfather who wouldn’t be able to see her. It was all too much for Annie to handle. She put a fist in her mouth, trying to keep her emotions in check.
    “I—I need to think. Go talk to him.” Annie spun on her heels and departed from the house. She ran from the ugly stench of prejudice, which had reared its head, attacking her growing love like a parasite.
    As she raced out the driveway, she called herself all kinds of idiot. Here she was pining after someone who didn’t know the real her? She looked in the rearview mirror seeing her natural curls, her brown eyes, her coffee-colored skin. If she were fat, she could lose weight. If she had bad skin, she could treat it. If she had crooked teeth, she could get braces. But, there was nothing she could do about this. She couldn’t—and didn’t want to—change the color of her skin.
    Overcome, she pulled into a parking space outside the shopping center. She choked back the floodgate of tears. The doctors had said that Saul could regain his vision without warning. How would he react if he saw her in his kitchen—in his home? Would his face transform into one of disgust?
    Annie couldn’t take that chance. She wasn’t about to stick around and watch his face curl with scorn. She loved every inch of her black skin. She wasn’t going to let any man make her feel less than desirable. Not now. Not ever.

 
    Chapter Thirteen
     
     
    “I was an idiot,” he said.
    Seated next to his daughter, Saul wished he could see her face. The two hours he’d been there had sped by. Cassandra had told him that Annie had gone shopping and she’d volunteered to drive him home. He welcomed this time with his daughter, determined to make up for lost time.
    “Yes, you were,” his daughter agreed. “How could you have thrown our relationship away like I meant nothing to you? How could you ask me to choose between you and my husband? Then you wonder why I didn’t answer the phone.”
    He heard the tears in her voice and pictured her lips quivering like she always did when she was about to cry but didn’t want to. “It was never about you, Cassandra. It was the way I was raised. From a child, I can remember the words I heard, and the things my parents said. I didn’t think to question it. I wish I had loved you enough to give Kellan a chance.”
    “You would’ve loved him, Dad,” Cassandra gushed. From her tone Saul realized she was eager to talk about her husband. He heard her wistful tone and knew she was grieving. He knew about that kind of grief. “Kellan reminded me so much of you. If you’d just taken a chance to know him, you would’ve liked him.”
    Saul felt a little discomfort at being compared to her husband. He gulped, not sure of what to say. He knew she expected a response. “I’m sorry I won’t get the opportunity to prove you right. No matter what I said, I didn’t wish him dead. Cassandra, I hope you know that,” he beseeched her, with deep regret. “My behavior might have been monstrous, but I would never wish your husband any harm.” He was surprised to find how much he meant those words.
    “When Kellan and I left that morning, I had no idea it would be my last time seeing his handsome face. He was a wonderful husband and a